— as gov’t continues to invest in human development

THROUGH the Hinterland Employment and Youth Service (HEYS) programme, thousands of Guyanese are being empowered as the government continues to build capacities in the areas of business, entrepreneurship, agriculture, ecotourism and technology.

Under HEYS, close to 4,000 youths have been trained in just three years of the APNU+AFC government taking office, Minister within the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Valerie Garrido-Lowe reported, as she addressed more than 300 residents in the Village of Karasabai in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo district.

Within the first two years of HEYS, the government injected over $1.6B to train close to 4,000, and provide them with small grants to start up their own businesses.
Garrido-Lowe explained that instead of giving handouts, the government has been giving youths across the country, particularly those in the hinterland, opportunities to empower themselves through capacity-building.

For six months, the beneficiaries of the programme were taught Mathematics, English Language, Agriculture, Ecotourism, and Business and Budget Planning among other critical subject areas. Today, Minister Garrido-Lowe said the participants are now recording their success. “Across this nation, in the 215 villages, everywhere you go the minimum is three businesses,” she posited. With the revenues being garnered, many young people now have the financial capability to build their own homes, and expand their businesses.

“These are young people, some of them didn’t get to finish school. Some of them failed their CSEC exams and they had no start in life, but because of HEYS, they got a second chance in life, and this is what the APNU+AFC government is all about,” the junior indigenous people’s affairs minister told the residents.

This year, the government, Minister Garrido-Lowe reported, will be giving each participant of the HEYS programme $50,000 each, once their businesses are still in operation.

At Karasabai, the 19 youths, who were trained under the HEYS programme have pooled their resources to open a stationery and general store. Because the business has been opened for a period of two years, they too will receive $50,000 each, Minister Garrido-Lowe told the residents to loud rounds of applause. The young entrepreneurs in Karasabai plan to construct a building to house their business. The minister called on the villagers to support the budding entrepreneurs in their business venture.

Holding a bottle of sun-dried tomato ketchup in her hands, Garrido-Lowe boasted that the product is being made right here in Guyana by the Patamonas in Region Eight.

STEPPING UP
“Indigenous People are stepping up like never before. They are getting opportunity to do business, unique businesses, like never before,”she told the residents.

It was pointed out that in Brazil, 10 Monkey Mountain students are being trained to cut, polish and shape semi-precious stones for commercial use. Minister Garrido-Lowe said upon their return to Guyana, the lapidary in Monkey Mountain would be completed and the machines would be installed for them to operate.

“Our hinterland people are now getting an opportunity to live a good life, raise their standard of living to earn their own money,” she emphasised, noting that with a second term in office, the APNU+AFC government will be able to do more not just for the indigenous peoples, but for all of Guyana.

In the area of education, 39 students from the hinterland received scholarships to attend the University of Guyana, the Guyana School of Agriculture, the Burrowes School of Art and the Carnegie School of Home Economics. Those without accommodation are also being accommodated in a hotel in the capital city – Georgetown – to ensure the successful completion of their studies.

Meanwhile, in the area of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Garrido-Lowe drew the residents’ attention to the fact that many villages within the hinterland regions now have access to Internet. In Karasabai, students at the primary school and secondary department use the Internet to conduct research while residents, in the absence of telephone services, use the Internet to communicate with their families and friends in other parts of the country, and the world at large. Additionally, the government has opened six radio stations – Radio Mabaruma, Radio Orealla, Radio Bartica, Radio Mahdia, Radio Lethem and Radio Aishalton – as it seeks to bridge the information gap.

Minister Garrido-Lowe was part of a ministerial team that visited Karasabai as part of a three-day ministerial outreach to the Rupununi. Other members of the team included Vice-President and Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Sydney Allicock, and Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Basil Williams.